[MarkJerling]

there's one on TM atm only $670.34

That one looks awfully scammy. No prior trades and USA.

[Class A]

Mines stuck on there :-)

As it should.

[richandfleur]

Hi Team NZ,

Just wanted to raise awareness of a little setting that's really adjusted my camera to my liking. It's kinda obvious, but I'd overlooked it for so long that maybe others have too.

I was always getting frustrated with my camera selecting too slow a shutter speed in Av mode. I'd had a go at influencing this in the past but with little success.
With modern Pentax cameras being fine at higher ISO levels than previous/early sensor models, I'm quite happy to up this in favour of a fast shutter speed.

It's better to have a noisy shot than a blurry one with subject movement due to too slow a shutter speed.
This really showed up once it got darker and you went indoors, and way too many family shots were ruined due to blur.

Anyhow, there is a setting here that I'd tried, but that obviously only affects the P mode.
I'd had that set to fast, but it doesn't work with the Av mode.


But buried under the Auto ISO Parameters menu is the one you want:


Switching that little guy to FAST made all the difference, and now suddenly Av was good for most situations I wanted it for.
I found the default auto setting too slow for my needs, but Fast was perfect.

That coupled with a sensible metering mode (I most often use Centre weighted) and it was like I had a new camera, perfectly attuned for my thinking.
So much so that I've been compelled to share the love with others, in case this had been overlooked or not considered.

This one change restored my confidence in the camera and really helped out on my recent trip, allowing me to focus much more on the shots I wanted.

For travel photography (seems such a broad term though) I mostly have my K-3 set at Av, with ISO set at 100-3200 and the camera now prioritising a fast shutter speed.

I then just rode the exposure compensation up and down as required, or switched to TAv (still with 100-3200 floating ISO range) for the likes of animal shots, (where I wanted a very high shutter speed around 1/800s or so) and again rode the exposure comp if required (say a bird against a bright sky).

Once too dark, say for tripod long exposure work then you're back into full Manual, but the Auto ISO Fast setting was revolutionary.

Maybe this will be of interest to you

[Transit]

interesting thanks Rich
so many ways to skin a cat with these amazing cameras !

---------- Post added 24th May 2018 at 06:51 PM ----------

that M20/4 I hope it doesn't go for too much,
my friend has one 'in his office somewhere' that I covet
worryingly we found its correct case with a mouldy M50/1.7 in it

[GUB]

interesting thanks Rich
so many ways to skin a cat with these amazing cameras !

---------- Post added 24th May 2018 at 06:51 PM ----------

that M20/4 I hope it doesn't go for too much,
my friend has one 'in his office somewhere' that I covet
worryingly we found its correct case with a mouldy M50/1.7 in it

Just bought a K 400 5.6 from him last week - it was in good condition.
I thought at first its aperture lever had been removed. Then the PF reviews tell me they were fully manual new.

[zkarj]

But buried under the Auto ISO Parameters menu is the one you want:

Nice find! I don't recall seeing that in the manual, or at least not recognising what it would do.

This is great for me because I've had the function dial configured to allow me to adjust ISO manually as needed. Now I have set the ISO to Auto and can reassign that slot for something else. I've chosen AF area because I sometimes want quicker access to that (e.g. changing the target from a predictable aircraft to an unpredictable seagull). I'm now just one dial click away from spot/auto.

[Class A]

Just wanted to raise awareness of a little setting that's really adjusted my camera to my liking.

That's definitely worth sharing, thanks!

I'd say TAv mode makes the setting irrelevant and my camera is always either in TAv mode or M mode because of the level of control these modes provide. However, for those times other modes like Av seem more convenient, the setting you reported on is definitely a good one to know about.

[GUB]

That's definitely worth sharing, thanks!

I'd say TAv mode makes the setting irrelevant and my camera is always either in TAv mode or M mode because of the level of control these modes provide. However, for those times other modes like Av seem more convenient, the setting you reported on is definitely a good one to know about.

Yes we all have our own way. For me it is on Manual at Base Iso with the lens as open as appropriate and the shutter as slow as appropriate. So here at the recent "light up your bikes" I am at f1.2 1/30 sec Iso 100. I then pushed them at least 6 stops in Darktable keeping a degree of control on highlights. I could not see the lady's face when I took the shot. The only precaution you need to take while shooting in a varying low light environment is that you are not actually overexposing at base Iso. Doesn't get simpler than that.

[richandfleur]

1/30th sounds risky for moving subjects?
Unless you're after intentional motion blur like panning etc?

F1.2 on full frame sounds awesome for letting light in, albeit a bit risky on focusing (presumably a razor thin depth of field?)

[GUB]

1/30th sounds risky for moving subjects?
Unless you're after intentional motion blur like panning etc?

F1.2 on full frame sounds awesome for letting light in, albeit a bit risky on focusing (presumably a razor thin depth of field?)

Yeah that is exactly what I mean about as slow as appropriate and as open as appropriate. The "Utilising Iso Invariance" approach doesn't decrease noise - it is more about dynamic range and controlling your highlights. So these shots are equivalent to f1.2 1/30 and about Iso 6400. As you can see the options are getting tight. Friends that used flash immediately lost the impact of the LED lighting. It was a parade and constantly on the move but maybe a monopod was a goer but it would have only augmented the abilities of SR.
Yes f1.2 was knife edge
and 1/30 made for a few failed shots
but didn't really want to push out beyond Iso 6400.
The revenuenon 50 1.2 tended to make comas from oof leds so I think it would have been better to go to f2.

Curious to know what others would choose .

[GUB]

A couple more to show the difficulty of the situation. Same camera setting similar push processing. The oof leds on the guys shirt are an example of those comas I was describing - look cool but were actually point source and would be better blurred gently.

[Kiwi645hauler]

SMC A- 135/2.8 on TM too cheap...very nice lens
I imported one for my daughters graduation, good length on crop
and all that A goodness

---------- Post added 20th May 2018 at 08:15 PM ----------



K to what is it adapting ?

Hiya T,
My apologies for the delay in replying, got called away for a family situation and have only just seen the message. It is a M42 to K mount adapter... great for all those old Taks on a K-1......

[Clarkey]

Hi Team NZ,

Just wanted to raise awareness of a little setting that's really adjusted my camera to my liking. It's kinda obvious, but I'd overlooked it for so long that maybe others have too.

Snip....

It's a great setting bank, and started around the time of the K-7 (there seems to be lots of options, now!) for the flagship models. Setting it to MTF can also be useful in the daylight hours; with my then 18-135mm, I noticed the aperture was set up to change at different focal lengths, making a noticeable difference to corner sharpness.

Similarly if you are prioritising shallow DOF, it will push the shutter up for you even further.

[GUB]

Gotta be the worst buy on TM!!
Helios 58mm Anamorphic Flare lens | Trade Me

[Kiwipixter]

Gotta be the worst buy on TM!!Helios 58mm Anamorphic Flare lens | Trade Me

Haha, Not for well-heeled A7r3 user it seems. Hazy videos with flares in 4K is all the rage at the moment.